Lewis-Clark Music Festival in Hartford, Illinois: Sept 12, 2009

The Lewis-Clark State Historic Site near Hartford, Illinois, hosts its annual Music Festival Saturday, September 12, 2009. Featured will be traditional music of the late 18th and early 19th Centuries, such as would have been popular during the time leading up to the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Music of the Frontier

Musicians playing fiddles, dulcimers, flutes, and other instruments will perform on the grounds at the historic site, dominated by a multi-million dollar mixed-media museum and visitor's center as well as a reconstruction of Camp DuBois, the fort built by the expedition as they wintered over prior to their spring departure West on their Voyage of Discovery. The reconstructed fort is slightly roomier than the original to accomodate visitors who wish to explore the fort.

The dance and music festival and the authentically-costumed reenactors will draw visitors from throughout the area to the grounds. Featured will be American, French, Spanish, and Native American music of the period, with the perofrmances held both indoors and outdoors.

The Site

The Corps of Discovery built the fort and trained while Lewis and Clark visited nearby communities like Cahokia and the village of St Louis across the river to recruit and acquire provisions.

Not only is the fort worth a visit, but so is the visitor's center which features numerous sight-and-sound displays, not the least of which is a cutaway reproduction of a keelboat such was used by the Corps of Discovery, showing how it was equipped and provisioned. Labels provide revealing information about the boat and its packing and the explorers' needs

Controversy

The fort located at the site is called Camp River DuBois ("Wood River") due to a dispute with the nearby town of Wood River, which beat Hartford to the punch with its prior claim to the name Camp DuBois. Wood River for many decades has been remembered as where the fort was located and an old Charlton Heston/Fred MacMurray movie about Lewis and Clark clearly shows them departing a place with a sign reading Wood River.

But it isn't that simple Wood River's claim rests on maps which show the since-shifted mouth of the Missouri across from the city instead of Hartford a few miles below Wood River. Neither town actually existed at the time of the expedition. Wood River's Camp DuBois is represented by its own reconstructed fort.

The Lewis and Clark expedition located its wintering-over camp where it did reasonably enough because their plans were to strike out West up the Missouri River. The conflicting claims are due to the fact that the original waterway known as the Wood River, with the fort on or near its banks, no longer exists (not to be confused with the city of Wood River or the creek dubbed Wood River that skirts the city.

Hours, Contact

Forget the conflicts and go enjoy the music at the Hartford site September 12th, tour the fort and the visitor's center, and have a great day painlessly learning some fascinating history. Hours are 10am to 4pm. Admission to the event is free. Lewis and Clark State Historic Site is located at One Lewis and Clark Trail, immediately off Illinois Route 3 south of Hartford, Illinois.

For information, call 618-251-5811.

Also, check out the website at Lewis and Clark State Historic Site, http://www.campdubois.com/